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"The people here at Bethel are like nowhere else. Every school has classes and dorms, but not every school has such great people to fill them. Anyone who asks, my answer is always the same -- it's all about the people at Bethel."

Bethel University held its Summer 2015 Commencement exercises on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m., in the Rosemary and Harry Crisp II Arena on the school’s McKenzie campus. One hundred and ninety-nine graduates took part in the ceremonies. The Honorable Jill Holland, Mayor of McKenzie, delivered the Commencement address. Holland pointed out that Bethel billboards across the state used the word “Believe.” “That one word is Bethel,” Mayor Holland said. “Through the decades there were people who believed in Bethel – who believed that Bethel was worth it. Let me tell you my friends, as a graduate of Bethel University, you can go anywhere you want to go – you can be anything you want to be – if you believe you can.” Mayor Holland went through a number of Bethel graduates who had been successful on the national level, the state level, and on the local level. “All of these ordinary people had a belief in who they were and in what they could become. And that has made them extraordinary,” she said. Mayor Holland then discussed the factors she felt make these ordinary individuals extraordinary. “First,” she said, “Each had the belief that it is important to give back. It wasn’t all about them. They embraced the communities where they lived and made them better.” Holland also pointed out that these individuals had a strong work ethic. “Put your cell phone away when you get to work; stay off of Facebook. Be the first to arrive and the last to leave. Be responsible and dependable, and if you say you’re going to do something, do it,” she said. A third factor Holland said these people each had was a belief in setting long term goals and the realization that those goals would not be reached by taking one giant step. “There are no giant steps – no sprints,” she said. “But perseverance and tenacity and grit and courage are what gets someone to the summit.” Finally Holland pointed out that life is hard and that these people knew that. “Their belief in themselves and their passion to reach the goals gave their lives purpose to get through the tough times,” she said. “It’s okay to be afraid,” Holland said. “This is how we grow.”

Bethel University hosted the Lights|Camera|Fashion program on its McKenzie campus, Tuesday, July 21. According to Tina Hodges, Dean of Enrollment for Bethel’s College of Arts and Sciences, Bethel served as a location for one of the series of workshops taking place through the Lights|Camera|Fashion program.